This question is for my curiosity only:
Is it possible to make a HTTP request from a backend server to a web browser, that is to say I have a HTTP server ON the web browser to listen for incoming HTTP requests?
Cause I want to use frontend <-> couchdb directly thus dumping the backend server .. but then i wondered how i would do normal processing when the database javascript is not sufficient.
That thought made me think of this question.
Generally speaking — no.
There are some exceptions, Opera has a feature called "Unite" which allows it to run a web server (this is not turned on by default!) as well as acting as a user agent. That wouldn't allow you to send a response to a request that hadn't been made though.
Most web browsers don't have a web server and they are unable to accept HTTP requests. Maybe there is an extension for Firefox, but that's not a typical use case.
Depending on what you are trying to achieve, using Comet or long polling could work for you.
